CHROME OS Flex is a BAD operating system

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Get 100$ credit for your own Linux and gaming server: www.linode.com/linuxexperiment

[@mrsharps]

You were once sponsored by only office and shared what an OO server is. I’d love to see a video on how to set one up and how you use it. Uh, on Linode of course.

[@Logan5Greye]

Can you do an episode on French? Wolfgang did an episode in English and Russian. Just sayin

[@tonguelover6666]

Stop promoting linode... 🙃 There are already bounce of people doing that and they're quite silly to be honest

[@HintzeDarrin]

How do you download games like Minecraft and The Sims it says I have to turn on

[@iustinheisu4483]

From my personal experience with my huge collection of cheap old laptops, chrome os flex (although far from perfect) is the only viable alternative to windows. Every time I tried ubuntu or lubuntu, it was a pain and a waste of time, and sooner or later I had to give up on that, for some reason or another. In general, and strangely enough, windows 8.1 is the best os of all, in my opinion. Yeah, I'm a strange guy.

[@AnErrupTion]

Btw, for the install proesss, you should've clicked on "Looking to install on a personal device? Start here", since the info is only required for businesses.

[@lawrencespicher1769]

Ikr

[@MyReviews_karkan]

How TF does Google take Linux and make it not compatible with Linux? If this is not a crime, I don't know what it is.

[@AlaskaHandyman1973]

The security model used requires Linux to run in a Virtual Machine, this requires the CPU to support virtualization technology (AMD-V or Intel VT) and having that virtualization technology enabled in the BIOS. It is completely possible to change the Linux container to whatever flavor of Linux you would like to use.

[@crazypersonalph]

@@AlaskaHandyman1973 He is talking about ChromeOS itself, it is based on Gentoo, and it can't run Linux apps properly natively

[@MyReviews_karkan]

@@crazypersonalph Yup. It's Gentoo, but can't run anything from Gentoo itself. This makes my head hurt.

[@inderix]

@@MyReviews_karkan You can barely call it Gentoo because ChromeOS is extremely disfigured and modified for what it does, a lot of stuff is also removed from the base system, so it's literally only the essentials for running it's OS components, and a few tools for developers.

[@erichgeiger970]

They didn't. They bought Cloudready Neverware.

[@Deezter16]

Totally agree with title. My daughter uses a chrome book at school. I installed Chrome Flex on an old laptop to give her a familiar environment to do her school work. 1) Getting the ISO was indeed terrible, I use Firefox so I was forced to install Chrome just to get the OS. 2) Installing was terrible too; no partition options, no app options, no progress bar, nada 3) Getting into the OS was fine, but the school account my daughter uses is protected, so half the default apps she can't access without a way to uninstall them. So basically she can only use Chrome ... but she could have done that on every OS. 4) I get this OS is not Android based, so no Android app support, I knew that before I installed, but that leaves a very marginal set of apps. Why would you want to limit yourself this way. 5) All other things you said in the video :)

[@Deezter16]

I gave her ZorinOS instead and she loves it :)

[@_framedlife]

Wetting up with a school account, that's to be expected.

[@kreuner11]

Hm, I know that brunch (another ChromeOS install thing) gave you Android support

[@i1xb0]

@@Deezter16 Sweet! I use Pop!_OS and gardua qtile! I tried zorinOS and it was... odd. I get the appeal is for windows users but I've been using linux for about 3 months now, so I really dont understand the appeal.

[@Deezter16]

@@i1xb0 I myself use KDE Nobara, a Fedora fork. I do appreciate the Windows way of doing thing (therefor KDE), but for the little one it still needs to be more simplified, so Zorin for me is the next best thing. Tried POP, but I really dislike Gnome I'm afraid

[@godtable]

I use it for my parents, my mother has a Chromebook, my father has a slow old PC with Chrome OS flex. My parents only need - know the browser, anything else is a nuisance to them. The way Chrome OS is a self-managed operating system, with automatic updates that applied instantly after rebooting or shutting down, is great. In the past, I was using Linux Mint with disabled updates, is not ideal. No Linux distro has "set it and forget it" mentality, everyone is like "the power to do stuff and owning your PC", but with great power comes great responsibility! :) And nobody has time for that :).

[@mikusion]

true, if someone just need to be online, for whatever reason, shopping/news/yt, this is zero maintenance option, no viruses, no crappy updates... at least so far. Then why not?

[@samir2107]

@@mikusion I'm thinking to install it. In a nutshell, i just want something which is simple, fast and can work and update and do all his stuff bla bla bla in the background without any intervention from my side, Y or N ?

[@mikusion]

@@samir2107 if typing pass everytime you start it isn't a problem, then answer is Y. Old wyse 5070 runs fast, zero noise, full hd@144Hz.

[@webreachers1653]

@@mikusion linux mint has automatic updates. And it's quite stable. So just enable it and forgot it for 5 years

[@matthewjones9638]

This exactly brother 🤙

[@BUDA20]

is bizarre the lack of attention to properly support web apps, when everything is a web app

[@tboatrig]

Those window vs browser settings are the settings saved in his Google profile. Those settings can be changed for any webapp with that behavior. Just go to the hamburger menu in the browser/app go to create shortcut and toggle the box.

[@MatheusFerreira-mu6lu]

​@@tboatrig True, i own a ChromeOS device and everything works fine to me.

[@tboatrig]

@@MatheusFerreira-mu6lu I have an older Elitebook running Flex. Been rock solid going on six months now.

[@andrewpalm2103]

I've been using Linux as my primary OS for several years. After a lot of distro-hopping I've landed on Debian and Fedora, both with Xfce; and the "family" computer has Ubuntu Mate (at least until I get up the energy to convert it back to Mint). However, a few months ago on a whim I installed Chrome OS Flex on a Thinkpad T420s to see what it was like. I'm not an enthusiastic supporter for it, but my experience was better than expected and much better than your video would suggest. I've used that laptop almost every evening while relaxing--checking news, email, and some social media, but mostly playing simple card and puzzle games. Perhaps the novelty will wear off, but more likely Google will eventually stop supporting my old hardware, just as it does with Chromebooks. Now I'm a 75 year old grandpa and my evening computing needs are modest, but my experience with Chrome OS Flex is that it is at least better than Windows 10 and is easy to use and update.

[@tboatrig]

Nice! Thanks for sharing.

[@steve43ful]

When I heard about the limits of Flex I knew what this was for: taking a laptop destined for the recycle bin and turning it into a Chome Browser machine for a parent/other family member. This is assuming that they absolutely don’t need to use any other apps, which is true for a lot of people, especially say retired people who just want to access web mail and Facebook. You obviously could install a Linux distro, but I trust ChomeOS a lot better to update silently in the background and not break. edit: there also another thing about the Linux desktop that is a real problem: lack of hardware video decode in the web browser. I’m guessing this isn’t an issue in Flex as Google controls everything including the drivers. I might install on an old laptop and find out.

[@MaryamMaqdisi]

That’s fair but I’d rather put Mint, it’s not controlled by Google, it had a solid reputation and it won’t be killed off overnight, I don’t think we can really trust Google to keep this alive and well

[@adwaitagnome]

even in that situation, something like openSUSE MicroOS (w/GNOME) would be much better. It's far easier and more intuitive to use, has much better out of the box application support, way better hardware support and it's transactional updates are automatic, seamless, and basically never breaks anything just like ChromeOS Flex.

[@steve43ful]

@@MaryamMaqdisi I don’t trust that a parent wouldn’t somehow shutdown or lose power during a Mint update and brick the whole install. Then there’s the lack of hardware video acceleration on Linux web browsers which I’m guessing (by am unsure) is enabled in ChromeOS due to it being Google’s closed system, meaning you parent isn’t going to nuke the battery by watching KZbin videos all day. Admittedly you would have to check in on the status of the Flex project occasionally to make sure it’s not getting killed off, but I trust that’s something I would hear about well before having to move to something new.

[@steve43ful]

@@adwaitagnome those updates sound good, but my parent wouldn’t need to use apps and the user interface is good enough just to run Chrome. I trust I would hear about Flex getting canned well before it’s eol so that’s not really a huge issue. Also last time I checked getting hardware video acceleration working in a web browser on Linux is a nightmare that breaks frequently.

[@mc10guru]

Thanks, my thoughts exactly (as well as my 87 YO mother). She mostly just wants to watch cute videos and keep in contact with her family. Chrome OS fits that bill well. db

[@bibasik7]

"Mom, can I have Linux?" "No, we have Linux at home." Linux at home:

[@Trashinated]

Um, actually, Linux is free so you can use it at home. 🤓

[@KiamKweli]

Exactly, this is the Linux that only a mother who works for Google would love.

[@p15209]

@@Trashinated Most parents, especially indians, are terrified of it, because of the terminal, that apparently children use to hack. Indian parents want to control their child, and restrict their freedom and ability as much as possible, but linux allows more freedom.

[@the_mariocrafter]

@@KiamKweliyep

[@bhargavjitbhuyan9394]

​@@Trashinated you can also use it outside, in space, on Mars, in other galaxies etc.

[@heneverreturnasahorse9773]

I agree with you 90 per cent. There is only one application where Chrome OS beats Linux application - the visually impaired. I have commented before, there is a significant clientele who are visually impaired and only a large funded company like Apple, Google and Microsoft can give us the accessibility options we need to have a good experience with home computers. I would love to give up these three for a Linux distribution that had 90 per cent of the ease of use , but so far there is nothing available in the Linux community.

[@mjdxp5688]

basically, it's linux for people afraid of linux

[@AaronTechnic]

And that is called Linux Mint

[@tantonodavid3443]

@@AaronTechnic nah, even steamos is much more popular nowadays thanks to Steam Deck

[@tboatrig]

Yes. And for the people who need to give those people machines.

[@tireseas]

@@tboatrig Bingo. Nailed it right on the head. It's for those of us that need to support users who'd very much prefer their computer be an appliance to check their email and do some light browsing but don't want to or can't buy new hardware at the moment.

[@error9900]

or people who don't want to spend a lot of time on sys admin tasks.

[@DavidEsotica]

I put this on an old laptop for my mum when her Chromebook went EOL. Just so she wouldn't get lost in something else. Basically the only use case that I can come up with.

[@teklife]

because realistically, ur mom probably only ever uses, or needs to use, a browser, probably for facebook or maybe pinterest

[@tboatrig]

This and for Chromebooks past their end of life. To squeeze a few more years out of them.

[@KiamKweli]

That's exactly who this is for. You're a good son.

[@amogoose2971]

and that use case can be replicated on linux too

[@bot-h2h]

​@@amogoose2971no because they will get lost from a different desktop

[@OniLynx69]

I don't normally post comments on videos, mostly because I tend to keep my thoughts and to myself, but I figured I'd jump in and provide my opinion as well. Now, while everyone is entitled to their own opinions about what constitutes a good operating system and what doesn't; and yours is absolutely, 100% valid. Everyone also has the opportunity to disagree with them. That being said, you do make quite a few valid points. For example, the whole drive/sheets app issue. While these two web apps *should* have been set correctly upon install, and targeted to open in a new window. It appears that they were not. Therefore ruining the experience for an average user. This is easily rectified by removing said app, and "re-isntalling" it via the "install app" icon in the right of the title bar (for apps that present themselves as such), and ensuring that "Open in new window" is checked when "installing". (I put installing in quotes, as Chrome OS (Flex) really doesn't "install" applications per-se. It really just creates a "shortcut" to open the web app in its own window, or tab. The target audience, in my opinion, is more likely to be aimed at those that want a simple computing experience for browsing the web. This could mean that it's meant for younger kids, or elderly who don't really know how to use Windows/Linux/Mac. Basic use cases could include checking Facebook/Twitter/other social networks, watching KZbin videos, banking, etc. These users don't want to have to go / can't go the hassle of setting up a linux distro, installing updates (either via CLI or Software Center), installing their preferred browser (either via GUI install or CLI). And if the hardware is too old to run the most current version of Mac OS or isn't able to run the latest version of Windows 10/11, then they are putting themselves at a security risk by leaving those old versions installed. Granted Chrome OS Flex is not the end-all-be-all operating system, nor is it the best. But is it a BAD operating system? I don't think it is.

[@AndrewShaffer91]

Well put! I agree with the issues shown in the video, but there are definitely points where ChromeOS has a use - and by extension, so does ChromeOS Flex. I've never run into the issue shown with Drive/etc sharing a window like this, so it surprised me - but your explanation clarifies exactly what was going on and makes sense since I've used ChromeOS on occasion. I've deployed Flex (its predecessor Cloudready, actually, that became Flex) on a number of older laptops and desktops for family or friends of family that needed a basic, inexpensive computer for their day to day needs, but couldn't upgrade to Windows 10/etc. ChromeOS is incredibly basic by OS standards, it's true - but the number of support calls I've gotten from family/friends that didn't need more than it offers has gone from weekly to maybe quarterly (and for some of them, I've not heard any issues at all in over a year). Yes, it's basic. But that's why it was perfect; it updates itself in the background, has a familiar-enough UI that's easy to learn for basic tasks, and it's snappy because it doesn't have anything else in the background going on. I believe Flex is also targeted at schools that now deploy Chromebooks to their students, and want to re-use their old fleets of unsupported Windows laptops. Instead of throwing all that hardware away, they can at most slap an SSD in to replace a mechanical drive, put Flex on, and manage them centrally alongside the rest of their fleet. That definitely has a value. It's not the OS for any purpose or person - but for someone with a minimal desktop computing need at home, with minimal upkeep, it's a great tool. I personally have a Chromebook I keep around and use because it's lightweight, fast, and convenient to use when just looking up something quickly or watching a quick video. It's fast - boots in seconds, shuts down in seconds. My Linux laptop is my go-to for real work, at desk or on the road, but it tends to live in my desk or bag and I use it for more intense/longer activities or multitasking.

[@imtopher11666]

Sheets, Docs, etc.: Create a shortcut for each app to make it a PWA. Have them open as windows, not as tabs. You should, then, be able to make individual documents open as separate (doc, sheet, etc.) windows instead of a tab going forward by selecting the option in search bar, once opened in a tab.

[@matthewsjardine]

As someone working IT for a school, Chrome OS Flex makes sense in Education. Some people cannot afford a new Chromebook, but can source an old laptop. Schools already limit the operating system and features using group policies anyway. It also makes sense for admin purposes in industries (e.g. hospitality) or companies that have been victim to serious ransomware attacks, and remain high risk. Hospitality and Leisure companies in Scandinavian countries are rumoured to have transitioned their hardware over to Chrome OS, with assistance from Google, after the nasty ransomware attacks earlier this year. The locked down and limited nature of the operating system makes sense for this. For just about anybody else, you are better off with Linux, Windows or macOS.

[@wsippel]

Waydroid does have the Google Play Store - if you use a GAPPS image. But yeah, getting it working isn't super straight forward. It needs special kernel modules and tweaked boot options, and I didn't really have a great time trying to get ARM applications to work, even with libhoudini installed.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

It doesn’t need much to be a one click integration!

[@circuit10]

@@TheLinuxEXP Maybe it's because of legal/licensing issues?

[@wsippel]

​@@TheLinuxEXP Yeah, but there's a real chicken and egg problem. Hardly anybody uses it because it won't work on most distro kernels to begin with, so it gets very little exposure which limits development resources (only a single active dev and basically no funding), but until it gets more buzz, I don't see distros enabling binder and PSI by default just for Waydroid.

[@genericgamer1319]

@@wsippel it should just work on modern kernels 5.18 & up have the modules scenery so does the linux-zen kernel also there is redroid a docker image that runs more apps it seems & has newer versions of android don´t know if it comes with libhoudini though

[@tboatrig]

Can Waydroid work as a linux install on Chrome OS Flex?

[@SignalChange]

Bite your tongue. I am using chromeos flex on a lenovo tiny m900 with a 1tb nvme, wifi 6 / bt 5.2 on a well supported intel ax200 and this thing is just a ridiculously fast, bullet proof primary computer for me. If I need an app, I just install the linux container, but 99.999999% of what I do is online. Email, SoundCloud, drive, editing, and all of my design and AI work I do with this, If I want to play the some hot game, GeForce now works wonderfully. I've made so many linux keys/cds that the stack would kill me if it ever fell on me and I've never found one of them that has any kind of polish. So I will stick with this. Might not suite your needs, but I've been computing since the amiga days and this little dual screened monster is f'n awesome. (and yes, I have a ryzen 5800x/radeon 6600m sitting in my livingroom, running ChimeraOS.

[@yjk_music]

Most things you described are definitely weird and not optimal, but it also doesn't feel like totally unusable disaster. The *only* major downside I can see is lack of Android app support. NOTE: I'm not Chrome OS user.

[@carlobi]

I was thinking the same thing. His issues actually makes him look like an as seen on tv actor.

[@aheendwhz1]

The gray bars on touch screens are actually quite nice when using the thing on touch screens. They visualise the area that you need to click/tab when moving. I think that's quite nice, Windows does that too on touch screens, and I think other Linux desktops should do that, too.

[@NikiDaDude]

I tried ChromiumOS a long time ago, and later played around with CloudReady. It was at the time the lightest OS and could even make old single core Athlon 64 computers feel usable. While it is limited and I don't like the user experience compared to Mint and the Cinnamon DE, it is also a fact that popular distros and desktop environments are quite resource intensive. I see it as a niche OS for a very specific purpose, like repurposing an old PC for basic web browsing and document editing. while still running an up to date and secure OS rather than something like Windows 7.

[@justsomeguy5103]

Modern Linux with XFCE runs perfectly fine on my old netbook. The issue is that modern web pages are way too heavy for the old Intel Atom chip, no matter how light the system is.

[@friedrichhayek4862]

How deamend a chrome instance can be less resource intensive that a lightweight linux instance.

[@iankester-haney3315]

I like the OS. I needed it for my daughters school work. The downside is limited functionality (no android or apps) on non supported (generic) laptops.

[@ngaran2108]

the downside (limited functionality) it is actually thing that made this OS perfect for pc I setup in a public shop meant to be just a browsing the net PC...now I don't worry users missing up the system installing weird stuff...

[@twb0109]

15:30 Not sure if this can be disclosed, but w/e, Amazon uses mostly ChromeOS for customer service. So it does work for some companies

[@matthewriley5819]

"Linux sucks because it's made by amateur hobbyists, we need a professional quality distro." The professional quality distro:

[@alexdaraujo]

I agree with same points and still love chromeos, isn't better than a full Linux distro, but has same really good functions, hope that continues to improve.

[@imSterling]

6:17 I'm going to have to disagree, Nick. If you're getting a ChromeOS device to run Android apps, you might as well just get an Android device.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

True!

[@imSterling]

@@TheLinuxEXP You were spot on with regards to how chromeOS's resolution though! I wish that it would use the screen's native resolution, or handle it like how Windows does it.

[@erichgeiger970]

I work in EDU IT. Chromebooks are incredibly popular in K-8 educational environments and Cloudready and now ChromeOS Flex provide a way for cash-strapped (all) public schools to stretch value from aging PC hardware while also keeping it familiar for users. The killer feature is that it lets you integrate non-chromebook hardware into the Google Admin management environment. It's not designed for linux users or windows users. Chromebooks are designed for people who don't even know what that means. Regarding the UI issues, I have 2500 students under the age of 14 who somehow all pick it up. In the interest familiarity with what my users have I've been running ChromeOS installed on a Dell Windows laptop as my primary desktop at work for years now and it's perfectly servicable. Occasionaly I need to access AD or some other windows app and I just RDP into the server using an app installed in the built-in linux VM. It works great. I've run GIMP through that as well. It's a solid product for Chromebook managed environments and is often a free throw-in when you purchase your organization's licensing.

[@tboatrig]

Awesome. Also makes it easier for admins at businesses to wipe and donate old hardware to schools for this purpose.

[@kriznokoff]

You don’t need to give google the information. There’s a link above where you can skip the sign up page 😊

[@robinirie98]

I use chrome OS flex because it doesn't tax the Celeron CPU on my non supported CPU. I only use it for word processing, watching videos online and browsing. Even lightweight linux maxed out my CPU

[@stevenmishos]

I ran Chrome OS Flex as an experiment to "learn" it and stopped after a few days because there isn't much to learn, but I consider that a positive. It just works and its user experience has none of the weird quirks we all put up with daily in Linux (none of the "nightmare" issues mentioned in the vid compare). Viewers of this channel probably won't run it, but it's the perfect OS for my neighbours who simply surf the web.

[@PepRodeja]

I am surprised that the lack of apps is considered that important, specially Android ones. I cannot imagine what Android apps I would want to use on a laptop. Regarding desktop apps, at least in my company, I think that project managers, sales, finance, supply chain, logistics, executives, or even systems engineers all mostly use web apps.

[@tboatrig]

I suppose android support on flex would make more sense if they were only supporting laptops with touch screens.

[@lucassantossj]

I'm using it on a tablet PC and it's the best experience yet as when keyboard is connected it uses the traditional desktop layout, but when using as tablet it works like my phone, including gestures.

[@Mikkii2474]

I literally went from Chrome Os Flex to Pop!_Os YESTERDAY!!!!!! All of it because I saw your video about pop os.... I'm in love with this channel even though it's my first time experiencing Linux

[@owlstead]

I don't think "illegible" is what you should be going for, it's "illogical". "Illegible" means that you cannot read it. Literally as in that you would not be able to read text. "legere" is Latin for reading.

[@DrathVader]

What I've liked about ChromeOS is the left/right three-finger swipe to switch tabs in Chrome. I wish we had something like that on Linux. Other than that, it's literally a maximized Chrome window with no actual apps. It can technically use Android apps, but a lot of them don't integrate well into ChromeOS.

[@cr6683]

Whether Crome Os flex is a bad or useless operating system is a matter of opinion. I have no problem with it.

[@etsyshoppe]

all my guy had to do was set web apps to open in a window rather than the browser. this was aggravating to listen to

[@Mkungaa]

I installed Chrome OS Flex on an old PC in our laboratory for the sake of web-browsing and using Google services. Why not linux? Well, Chrome's hardware acceleration on linux requires either workarounds or just plain broken. P.S. Also, I bet there will be a bunch of linux aficionados who will spam "just use Firefox", but I swear switching OSes might be an easier task in 2022 than switching browser. Heck, I hated iPhones and switched back to Android because of iOS's browser engine limitation.

[@odie5268]

The amount of problems I've had with Linux totally collapsing on itself using multi-monitor setups with different DPIs and resolutions, it is the only thing I find frustrating about it. Some DE's and wayland work ok (Deepin DE is actually pretty good at it). But with just about all of them there's a lot of issues. It's fine if you run native resolution and scaling on all displays, but if you have a mix of HiDPI and scaling needs it's SO PAINFUL. I mean you can get it working ok if you like blurry interpolated scaling on some UI elements or the entire display. It's a massive problem that hasn't been solved yet. ChromeOS just works in this regard.

[@petea4268]

It is a good option in an applicable setting. A free enterprise MDM manageable device in a business setting that can act as a kiosk. Certain situations it works. Less can be more.

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

It reminds me of how so many iphone and ipad apps are just web browsers that only go to a single website. For example, duolingo app is a web browser that only connects to duolingo website. Facebook app is a web browser that only connects to facebook website. The only apps I prefer are the ones which give actual functionality and offline purposes. Otherwise, it's better to just use a web browser because there is less tracking unlike a designated app. Tracking is part of the reason that companies don't like users using a web browser over their app.

[@ErrolMars]

Have you ever put a linux laptop in an average person's hands? Not pretty. The problem with people who use Linux desktop is the refusal to accept the fact that most people find linux desktop difficult to use. ChromeOS is great for the "average user" . No complexity!

[@kote315]

I completely agree. Without the ability to run android applications, this does not make sense. But if they added support for Android apps, there would be no point in buying Chromebooks.

[@tboatrig]

What Android app do you need on your computer that doesn't have a web app, or a Linux app?

[@odie5268]

@@tboatrig I wonder this same thing. The only non-web app I've wanted to try so far is the discord linux app, and that's only because discord web app has a memory leak that causes it to crash at some point. Not sure if it's the voice chat function or just their web app or some bug in Blink or V8.

[@mahdi-hasan]

1:46: It's not required to fill up the form. It's just for showing certified devices. Just click on "Start here" an you are good to go.

[@devangshekhawat]

I love your videos nick! Its been so nice seeing the trajectory of your channel since the last 3 years! Your minimalism video was so relatable that I still remember it!

[@trs5127]

Why would they take away native support for Android apps? That's bullshit. That makes the pc unusable without a network connection

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

I've seen videos comparing Chromebooks with other computers, and the closest comparison was MacBooks. Mac users were the happiest to use Chromebooks. It reminded me of the "Choose Your Weapon" meme. Linux = machine gun. Windows = handgun. Mac = pink dildo. 😂

[@retroroom7]

Me: Can we get install a Linux distro on my computer? Mom: Your computer already runs a Linux distro. The Linux distro:

[@bacabourke]

A great comprehensive review. I'm sure Google could make Flex into a worthwhile OS if it wanted to make the effort. But, if history is any guide, it will soon be , "...... no longer supported".

[@lucassantossj]

They can. Proof of this is FydeOS, with is basically the Chrome OS with Linux and Android support.

[@randombrit13]

Chrome OS flex: Have you ever wanted all the privacy of google chrome with all the stability of Linux from scratch (made by a cat)? No? Well fuck.

[@PookiePie244]

The chrome tab and actual web app issue can be fixed, three dots > more tools > create shortcut, then click the use as window checkbox

[@Jeku-yw2rn]

You don't get the point here, you're not the target market here. We know there's a lot of distros out there but the question is, is it really stable? User friendly? Most of the time you need to use the terminal. Been an OS hopper for quite some time now, and what I can say is chromeOS is the Linux Distro for people who want to have a lightweight OS that is stable and REALLY user friendly without even using the terminal. You're good to go, and take note that it depends on your needs as well. For example if you're a cybersecurity or pen tester, Kali is the perfect OS for you.

[@natetheaverage5270]

Not all, but a few of these issues are things carried over from old versions of Chrome OS they haven't bothered to change when making other changes. For example, the back arrow in the calendar is there because you used to access it from the system menu, and they didn't remove it when they gave it a dedicated button. Also, the reason installing Linux programs is so weird could be because 1: Google pretends it's only something developers would use, and/or 2: Chrome OS uses a very outdated Linux kernel.

[@mylopintorizvi4349]

something tells me that chrome os is destined for the google graveyard.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised

[@thelakeman2538]

Chrome os itself never, as far as google's concerned that's part of their core business. Flex maybe but given how important chrome os is to them, I think they'll keep it around like official x86_64 support for android.

[@o_o6869]

for me the bad taste is no windows like explorer support

[@cgwworldministries83]

it has a usable GUI which is more than I can say about any other WM or DE

[@eraldorh]

If you use brunch framework you can use android apps on chrome os flex. This transforms it into something useful.

[@benedikt3880]

What would have been interesting, if you would have recommended good alternative distros that steer in the same direction.

[@thelakeman2538]

Ubuntu web if you want something like chrome os but a real linux distro. Aside from that Linux Mint comes with a pre-installed web apps installer/integrator thing.

[@thieftheodore]

Brunch, it's basically unofficial way to install full featured chromeOS (android apps, and more) in any laptop. The installation might be little more confusing but not at arch installation level difficulty

[@teklife]

i second Ubuntu Web, looks and works good

[@RonaldoTalison]

Brunch is not as compatible. I've tried numerous versions and my touchpad didn't work correctly. With chrome os flex it simply did.

[@tboatrig]

@@thelakeman2538 I'd like to see him do a review on that on the same machine.

[@lafamillecarrington]

Damn! I am currently a Chromebook and Google Apps user. However my Chromebook is no longer getting security updates, so I had planned to move to the OS that has now become Flex. Whilst many of your arguments against using Flex aren't particularly important to me (I'm retired, so not using any work software, nor requiring great security re email and document content), I do understand your exhortation not to install an OS that limits you in many ways, and provides no obvious advantages. Now I'm going to have to watch your other KZbin content and compare Flex with Linux distros before making a decision. It is lucky I'm retired and have the time!

[@linux_doggo]

3 years ago this would've made sense, as most graphical package managers for linux were either lacking a lot of features, or caused problems (looking at you octopi), now Discover and Gnome Software can do full system updates, including drivers and firmware updates, so there's really no reason to not use a general purpose distro like fedora workstation as your main OS, since you never need to open a terminal to install your applications

[@byteseb]

Good review. Yeah, I once tried to make a video installing and reviewing ChromeOS Flex, but it was such a nightmare, as the installer sucks and almost always failed (also, it's pretty hypocritical that they take advantage of Linux, using it as their base for ChromeOS and never add compatibility for using the installer on Linux). Once I got it to work, the OS always crashed and rebooted. But when I installed ZorinOS Lite on a 2GB RAM laptop, it worked perfectly. There is just no reason to install ChromeOS Flex. Even if you want Android app support, probably an Android x86 distro would be better.

[@tboatrig]

It fails on BIOS. You need it set to UEFI. And it's best used on supported hardware.

[@2greenify]

Agreed with the title... but people said this about Chromebooks to.

[@iwanttoramble9545]

The only usecase I could think of is parents locking down a computer before giving it to their kid, but even then that's a stretch. Chrome Os is for people who aren't even techy enough to use windows - even having to flash the iso is a hurdle too much for these people. Maybe google wants to cash in on people who chose their operating system, but I have a feeling people would just choose something better. Really looks like it was only supposed to be an proof of concept.

[@JackieFuckingChan]

Hey ramble, can we be friends?

[@iwanttoramble9545]

@@JackieFuckingChan wat

[@mhammadalloush5104]

Exactly, if I wanted to move away from windows I don't want to use a locked down OS like android or chromeOS, and forget about macOS (hackintosh), especially now that apple isn't supporting new intel hardware, which leaves you with only installing linux or moving to an Apple machine.

[@kryzerk9203]

5:36 You can enable the Linux development environment IF your CPU supports virtualization. I've tried installing Flex on my Lenovo G50-30 running a Celeron N2820 and the Linux Dev-Env is unavailable for me. So on that processor, you're stuck with only Chrome Web Apps, which makes this OS even less useful.

[@TheArtmann]

I keep saying this in my videos ever since it's release. Especially that you can install Chrome OS with Play Store or FydeOS instead. At least from those you get Play Store and can have some fun with some apps. But Flex is really unnecessary. A waisted potential

[@mrchad97z49]

this may sound funny, but I have a relative who is mentally slow.. And he broke his laptop. So I got him a Dell chrome book because it was only $60 on ebay but it looks brand new and there are some cheaper ones, but I paid extra for getting one that is in great condition and has the battery charger included. So, ya he only really needs a browser and email....Why buy an expensive laptop with windows when he doesnt use all that stuff..?? He doesnt know how to use Word or Excel and he is too slow to play fast games..

[@viniciusmorgado9722]

The ChromeOS Flex has a better DE them most in the Linux world when considering DEs that are lightweight and yet usable, we normally have or usable but heavy interfaces like gnome and kde, or lightweight but ugly as hell like xfce and lxde that requires a lot of customization to just became minimally modern looking, even though the lack of android app support is sad, the DE are worth the shoot to revive old hardware instead of lightweight distros with xfce and lxde.

[@danzthename]

I really like the ChromeOS UI, way better than Windows and Mac. It's not the choice for Linux power users. I don't think that's it's intended audience, but I got my mom a Chromebook, and we no longer spend hours trying to undo all the mistakes she made with Windows, and I don't worry about her clicking malicious links on the web. I do hope Google fleshes out Flex to be more like ChromeOS on chromebooks.

[@warthunder1969]

I would love to see somebody Fork Chrome OS (even Flex for that matter) and bake in Firefox or Brave with that Chrome OS UI - maybe sprinkle in some flatpaks at the system level

[@tboatrig]

@@warthunder1969 Call it Foxxy OS! Or, Mane OS.

[@dawoodwilliams3652]

Chrome OS and Flex works well for its intended use case, simplicity, educational purposes and web browsing, and most things just work out the box, which can't be said for standard linux distros. as for who its for? well many people, i got a laptop that i received as payment, the laptop was a couple of months old, i gave it to my mom, but windows kept breaking on it, i installed a linux distro, but there were always certain things that needed some work around, so i just installed Chrome Os flex and it just works, all peripherals just work, bluetooth just works, it's Google so it has great integration with and android phones and for my mom it's perfect, because all she really does is do some word processing which always just saves to the cloud, browse the web, play some light linux games and plug a usb stick in and watch her series and when something did go wrong, a simple powerwash and log in and everything was exactly as she left it. There's a reason why Chromebooks has gained so much success and popularity, because most pc users use a PC as a portal for their web browser and do everything via the web.

[@maledict9061]

8:00 The problem is that Google sheets and Drive are shortcut that you have created on another PC (it's Sync) so they act like this instead of regular web apps. 12:10 Same problem. 14 :00 Same.

[@ClassyOnionUK]

I wonder whether it’s purely aimed at schools who base installing it on the fact that it’s Google and they use Google office products anyway. I don’t see any other reason for installing otherwise..

[@Daniel_VolumeDown]

1:42 - no - you do not need to give personal info: just read from top to bottom... It says and gives link: "Looking to install on a personal device? Start here." I have heard that if you are installing chrome os flex it will choose drive by random and do not ask. So I guess If someone do not want to loose data or if someone want to install chrome os flex on specific drive then first needs to physically remove the drive which is not meant to override

[@FranklynPearson]

I know the exact demographic for Chrome OS Flex, because it's me! I install ChromeOS on a 10 year old laptop just to play around with, I liked it and it's features enough to buy a real Chromebook. And I liked that enough I've recommended it to people, who've either bought or checked it out. It's a gateway into the ecosystem

[@TempoLOOKING]

I konw I am interested. Another tax ride off...I mean work expense lol. Another reason to buy another computer....I hope they do not kill it off like the Chromebit. Any one else rember when Linus reviewed that thing..

[@henriquemiguel95]

You're the first youtuber taking that path to create the bootable USB, you just need to install the extension and create the USB without filling in information or whatsoever. ChromeOS is for average computer users who are not tech savvy and just want an affordable system that works without any issues, unlike Windows and Linux where you have a lot of problems to solve (I use the 3 systems) You can buy a Chromebook for 200€ and basically it works by just login with your email, for the average computer user is super user and more than enough. Or you can just use your old laptop where Windows doesn't run or where Linux need a XCFE version to run. Don't agree with the video to be honest, sounds like an average linux user who hates any other OS for no reason at all

[@gudang0garam]

Because he knows his audience very well.

[@henriquemiguel95]

@@gudang0garam he didn't even touch on the option to enable Linux on ChromeOS 😑

[@tmbas12]

Wow, you did not spend anytime figuring out that most of your complaints aren't valid at all. ChromeOS or Flex isn't for everyone but it performs better than most distros out there. I like your videos Nick but this one is not valid...

[@justcodingjumperbot_]

Let me add a little bit of insult to injury: Even though Chrome OS on Chromebooks support Android apps even from 3rd party sources... Google managed to restrict us even further by adding a configuration to an apk's metadata that tells the playstore if it's "not compatible" with chromebooks. In other words, even Google doesn't want you to install their apps on their hardware that would perfectly work otherwise (tried it myself, happy with installing from 3rd party providers). And yes, for some reason even if you do manage to explicitly configurate it to be compatible for chromebooks... they just sometimes won't appear on the playstore for chromebooks. Other that that, it would've been better if they made it so that the OS itself working in the background would be much more memory and cpu-friendly. That's given the fact that most chromebooks are sold with a slow less than 1GHz CPU and just about 2-4GB RAM. Nearly 1GB would be occupied by the background services w/o doing anything at all. In other words, I'd rather just use this to code on a random dual-core 4GB RAM Github Codespace VM than on the Crostini (Linux container) itself. I have been using this for a year now so it's not much of a big deal any longer. It only sucks when I have to operate on a CPU-intensive task. It will also suck if you are forced to buy one yourself.

[@antoniabonfitto8535]

The part about apps opening in a browser tab is completely wrong and misinformed. To open an app in a standalone window you can simply right click on the icon and choose to open it in a window instead of a tab. This doesn't happen for all apps, for instance youtube is built as a Progressive Web App and has support for being installed while also providing offline support (by showing the ui instead of the network error page), other websites do not have this capability but Chrome still allows you to bookmark and open them in a standalone window or browser tab if you want.

[@theawesomerb2807]

however , fydeOS is absolutely GREAT , a BANGER !

[@jrgengreve6654]

I have an old Lenovo x250/8 GB/FHD/old I5. It's to slow for Linux but it runs OS Flex quite well, swift, simple and rock solid. And the virtual Debian is convenient. But I too miss the ability to prepare installation from Linux and the ability to install it along with another OS on the same disk.

[@launchpending]

Remind us when it shows up in the graveyard...

[@Borsting89]

Who is ChromeOS Flex for? Despite it lackluster of choise when it comes to apps. It covers basic office usage, file copy to and from USB, video and music streaming (with hardware acceleration unlike in many cases Linux), better performance on low specs, webbrowsing and email. It is for the person who wants an OS that is pretty much without maintenance and only needs basic set of features. This is where ChromeOS is unmatched in my opinion.

[@odie5268]

Agreed. I still bust open the terminal on the machine I installed it on and run `sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get -y upgrade` just to feel a little more at home lol.

[@awesomedez]

Use case: somebody wants to get on the internet, but doesn't know how to use a computer and they don't want to spend any money. If you happen to have an old laptop lying around, this might work for them.

[@thelakeman2538]

I mean only requires as much computer knowledge as installing any ubuntu based distro, installing a new os and opening the bios/uefi is itself an advanced skill as far as most people are concerned, not much difference between flashing using the google tool or using balena etcher to do it for a linux iso. The only difference I suppose is that the average gui linux installer will have more options than the chrome os installer which could make it appear more complicated.

[@awesomedez]

@@thelakeman2538 are you talking the installer or the user?

[@chytrik]

This operating system is aimed at users who are focused on Google Apps and Google Chrome. For example, I use Google Office and Gmail, and we have G Suite at work. Almost the entire working day is spent in a combination of G Suite (mail, calendar, Docs and Sheets) and occasionally the Linux console and Linux apps. I'm running Chrome OS Flex on my Lenovo X1. The combination of Chrome and Linux applications is amazingly smooth. Previously, running on Linux caused a lot of CPU usage when a lot of Google Apps and Chrome tabs were opened. This does not happen in ChrOS Fx. The last update 116 brought LaCrOs and improved the use of profiles.

[@deedouglas6615]

dont forget ctrl alt w for aero glass

[@SirRFI]

Hopefully Tuxedo makes laptop combining the latest AMD CPU and dGPU (RDNA3) when the mobile variants are available.

[@TheLinuxEXP]

That would be great!

[@PaulR434]

Wow... strongly opinionated to say the least. I'm running 2 chromebooks as my daily drivers and couldn't be happier. Software dev here with over 20 years of experience with all of them - macs, windows linux freebsd... What I like about chromeos is that it has a full fledged browser and access to 2 ecosystems - android and linux. Besides the browser and the good ol' linux terminal, I mostly run linux gui apps like vscode, intellij, libreoffice emacs, logseq etc. Btw, any linux gui app can be installed with a button click once I installed the debian app store. Great integration. Android apps can be a blessing sometimes. The way I see it its a linux++ - good security out of the box, smooth updates, simple backups to google drive and simple restores, including the linux system. Sure, Google could make many of the features I like more accessible (pre-installing the debian appstore and libreoffice would unleash a ton of potential). Still, I feel this review could be more balanced, if it had covered the benefits of this simple and unpretentious os.

[@TempoLOOKING]

He is being a bitch. Realy the callander app. Realy. Most chromebooks do not even have Linux app support let alone Android apps or the Steam support. He did not even mention Anbox for linux. We have no other project to add android apps. From what I have seen most do not even want android app support. They want crap like meta vr headset support. What I want is my dam Nvida 400 built on my motherboard to work so I can remove Windows Vista!! How about Fixing the broken PowerPC builds on Debian.

[@vladimirdelima2519]

CHROME OS is lightweight, difficult to mess and updates regularly and automaticaly. I see people who doesn't like tech using it since it's so straight foward, as well as people with low specs machines. Or both cases, wich often can happen. I did that to my parents and family. They're enjoying much more than a slow, difficult to manage windows OS on a low end machine

[@kondrik3777]

I tried it some months ago and I actually liked it. The only downside, that drove me away from it, was low support for video stored in a local disc. I just wasn't able to properly run some of my old movies. Arrr. 🏴‍☠

[@tboatrig]

Did you try a VLC Linux app?

[@kondrik3777]

@@tboatrig well, I wanted to, but at that time it didn't support linux terminal for me. It might have changed since then, but I've already switched to Pop!_OS 😆

[@tboatrig]

@@kondrik3777 it does now. I just installed it.

[@kondrik3777]

@@tboatrig OK, thank you. I might give it another try.

I use chromeOS (not flex, but not original - fydeos), and it's BEST operative system for laptops with touch screen and pen (stylus) - I'll explain why : 1. It runs well almoust all android apps. 2. it runs well almoust all Linux apps 3. chrome is opening realy fast 3. on-screen-keyboard is the best on-screen-keyboard ever seen on laptop and IT WORKS! I Alwasy had problem on linux distros with OSK, do not get me wrong - i use Zorin on desktop as primary os without dual boot, and i'm realy satisfied with experinece - but on laptop OSK does not works in some apps, it shows cyrilic alphabet when is latin active ( I'm Serb, we use both) etc. You will probably agree with me : On linux there is not good note taking app or something for school and math - i used openboard, but on android there is so many more options. I tryed to install linux apps directly to system ( not linux container ) with chrome built-in shell, but realy, realy do not try that! It's based on gentoo, but you can install some package manager and with it maybe GCC, NODE and it has built-in git. I tryed Visual code server to install but it's realy bad, stay with linux container. Problems: on linux container - alt+tab does not works android apps does not see device folders, per excample i tryed to sinc photos from whatsapp with google photos - I don't know if the problem is in chrome-os itself or in fydeos. ` .... ` simbol does not works on keyboard, i allways copy- paste from web, relay not big deal if you do not programming in javaScript. So - it's best OS for touchscreens and if you need android apps and games, but if not - stay with linux, I have both on laptop and just linux on desktop.

[@WeldonWen]

Having web apps open in browser instead of in new window by default bothers me to no end.

[@michaelwright2986]

I guess the point about Chromebooks is to make a computer that is like a phone. So also the tablets with well integrated keyboards. Everybody thinks that it's us geezers who can't run a computer, but there's another point of view. One of my younger friends ("younger friends" for me is about 40 y.o.) builds his own gaming machines, having been taught by his father when building a computer was a thing. He also has taught at university level. He gets a bit agitated about digital natives: roughly, "These young people nowadays know nothing about computers!" Because they are brought up on phones, with long battery life, and everything tightly packaged, they don't know how to fix errors, and they don't know about programs, only phone apps. For those people I can see the appeal of Chromebooks. And I was thinking about playing with ChromeOS Flex until I discovered you can't use the Android app store. So who is the market? Would it be in some way specially good for Android developers?

[@biruniweb]

13:10 this part is probably because of an old chrome OS version, but they did not remove the back button after they made the calendar separate

[@aeregreenway8096]

I purchased a ChromeBook for testing the KeyMusician Keyboard application on ChromeOS. But after only 2 years, Google stopped providing updates for it. ChromeOS Flex gave me a way to continue testing my application on ChromeOS. I could even have put ChromeOS Flex on my original Chromebook (which I had upgraded its BIOS to run Linux), but the Chromebook's 12 hour battery life was much more valuable as a music performance machine.

[@dand337]

ChromeOS UI looks 10x better though

[@tutacat]

Guess what, it has extra settings somewhat in the about:settings page. But also it has OS and browser flags in about:flags. At least they split the OS from the browser so they can update it separately now.

[@asifshamsi5630]

My laptop was not on Google list or in Linux supported devices. I installed Chrome OS Flex on it. Before that I tried various flavors of Mint. I feel those slow than I installed Chrome OS Flex. Nothing was sluggish than it. Now I am using Linux Lite on it.

[@namansinghal1892]

Using second monitor is atrocious as well and it took me quite a while to find out how to switch sound output.

[@fuseteam]

I can't see how these points wouldn't apply to chromeos in general (except maybe the android app support) Makes you think how chromeos has an equal marketshare to the general linux desktop Makes you think how big an impact affordable preinstalled preconfigured hardware can have

[@drakalproto]

honestly it's not really meant for end users, and more for enterprise. A good use for it I've found is in the enterprise, especially with so many computers being replaced now to (officially) work with Windows 11, rather than junk the old stuff, they can be turned into managed machines under google workspace, like a doctor's office front desk computer that works exclusively in web apps and email. It's probably missing these features to not cannibalize the main Chromebook market too much

[@005MDS3]

Actually Windows 11 much worst than Google Chrome OS Flex...

[@TheLinuxEXP]

No, not at all. Windows 11 is bad, but not nearly as useless

[@005MDS3]

@@TheLinuxEXP Well for me, compared to previous versions of Windows I think it's not just useless but complete garbage. Cuz it still runs with W10's Architecture (NT10) and the features are almost the same minus the File Explorer Tabs.

[@AbhinavKulshreshtha]

I miss hexxeh and bat's . They used to provide a better chromium os img that you could install in a partition. If I remember right, hexxeh was hired by google after his internship, on a condition he would stop working on these unofficial builds. I don't know what happened to bat's.

[@giuseppem.34]

I think that you didn't get the point. Google is trying to get as much userbase as possible with this OS. Older computer, like Core 2 Duo (that are 64bit cpus) can benefit from this OS for light office work and surfing some sites this distro literally resurrect these old devices. If you have a quite recent laptop

[@JanGertru-w3g]

Just installed Google Flex on a 15 year old HP i7 desktop and It works like a charm for 90% of my work including Linux apps. This can't be said of Linux Mint nor Zorin which I installed on a couple old laptops. I installed Google flex on a friend's worn out laptop more than a year ago and it still performs without a problem.